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Friday, March 6, 2009

Google Reader for Mobile Devices SUCKS

The default RSS Reader on my Omnia (default WinMo RSS Reader) is fine, but I'd like to have something a little more robust. I'd at least like to be able to "star" certain things to come back to them later... better yet, I'd like to be able to mark them and have that mark integrate with my main computer RSS Reader so I could later take a look from my computer.

You can e-mail a link from the default RSS Reader, but it's a many-step pain in the butt, so not the best solution (takes over a minute just to send yourself a reminder about whatever you want to remember to revisit).

It would be excellent if the reader functioned with my Google Reader. I'd be able to star the item, and then when I returned to my computer I could simply check my starred items via Google Reader on my Google Homepage.

So I decided to see if there was a mobile version of Google Reader. I went to http://m.google.com/reader and was pleased to find a link called "Get Google Reader for your phone" with a form field to fill in your mobile number. I typed in my mobile number and expected to receive a cab file from Google.

Instead, they send a freaking link to a web page. I don't want to visit a web page; I want an app so I don't have to open my browser and get on the web. It pretty much defeats the purpose of having a mobile RSS Reader in the first place.

ANNOYING AS HELL.

Not only that, but in order to "star" something, you have to scroll to the very, very bottom of the page and click a link.

Stupid.

Furthermore, there is no option to add Google Reader to your mobile iGoogle page. What in the...? When you select "Add stuff" from your mobile iGoogle page you find a list called "popular" where you can add the "Betty Crocker Recipe of the Day," but not your Google Reader. There don't seem to be any other options from that location to find (actually useful) things to add to your iGoogle mobile page.

Again: stupid.

Bad job, Google.

[update] If you're using Opera Mobile 9.5, you can "trick" Google into thinking you're not actually on a mobile device. This will allow you to see Google Reader on your iGoogle page (you can look at your real iGoogle page, not just the extremely scaled down piece of shite that Google redirects you to when your on a mobile device).

Just following these steps:

To change the user agent in Opera Mobile 9.5 type the following into your address bar:

about:configScroll down the page to the item "User Agent" and click on it.It will say "Spoof user agent ID"

2 comments:

The new mobile reader is indeed an improvement, but it still requires you to go to a web page (thus open your browser and navigate to the page). I'd love a good reader that allowed for bookmarks sent (via data connection) to my computer for checking later... when I'm not trying to view things on a tiny screen.